Keep Your Eyes Open
by Tigris13458
Summary: This story is about Katniss and Peeta's daughter! She basically goes against both her parent's by volunteering for the Fourth Quarter Quell. HOPE YOU LIKE IT! REVIEW PLEASE! :3
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first fanfiction. It's for the Hunger Games, if you didn't notice. Haha. Just, read and leave some responses! :D I'm already working on the second chapter! Please be patient! :3**

**Also, I don't own the characters...though some I did make up.  
This is based on a story written by Suzanne Collins! Lol I'll just say that!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

-_The Next Generation_-

My name is Tigris Mellarck. Yes, I am Peeta and Katniss's daughter. It's been twenty-five years since the second rebellion failed. I guess I should explain further.

Twenty-five years ago, they had the Third Quarter Quell. Also known as the Seventy-Fifth Hunger Games. My mom and dad were in it, though they were also in the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games. (They acted like they were so in love…which turned out to be true…and acted like they were about to commit suicide since they both weren't able to survive.) They went back in the Third Quarter Quell because it was a "Special" Hunger Games. This one, prior victors had to go back in the arena. While they were in the arena, my mom blew up the force field that was around it. Then District 13 (which was thought to have been obliterated) took Katniss along with some others. Though they didn't get a chance to save my dad. After the escape from the arena, my mother decided to become their "Mockingjay". The Rebellion didn't last very long. In the end, President Snow captured Gale, my mom, my dad, my aunt, and my grandma. Gale was my mom's best friend before the Hunger Games. After they were all captured, my mom made a deal with President Snow. No one else knows what that was, other then it dealt with my mother becoming Head Game Maker and everyone's lives, even the rebels lives, were spared. So in the end my mom saved millions of lives.

I'm the only one, other then Snow himself and my mom, that knows what the other half of that deal was. After Snow dies, my mom is to become President. She can do what ever she wants, just as long as she allowed the Hunger Games to continue till he dies. He's almost 100 years old now so I don't think it will be too long now till he dies. The only reason I know, is because I kept asking. Yes, I am also very persistent.

Anyway, I live in the capital with my mom and dad. During the Reapings, I go to District 12, which is where my name is placed in the gigantic bowls. Though my name is only in there once, I keep hoping I'll get chosen. (My name is only entered once because my mom is the Head Game Maker…it's like immunity I guess.) My mom on the other hand, hopes I never go in. Especially since she is ordered not to treat me any different is my name is chosen.

"I think this is the most boring Quarter Quell ever!"

I look over to see that Haymitch (who is now super old!) said it.

"Why?" I ask. Also wondering why Haymitch is even in my aunt's house to begin with!

"Two people can win? Not like that hasn't happened before!" He plops down on my aunt's couch.

I giggle. I know he means my parents, but yes. This Quarter Quell is sure to be boring. It was just announced yesterday that two people (gender and district don't matter) could win. I remember my mom smiling. I guess she thought it meant one less person who'd she have to watch be killed.

"Maybe I should volunteer this year," I say. Haymitch just glares at me.

"Your mom would kill you herself," he says. He reaches for the bottle on the table and I swipe it up.

"You're too old to drink!"

"And you're too young," he says. To be a smart ass I shrug, take off the cap, and chug about a fourth of it. I love the bitter taste and funky after taste. It kind of relaxes me.

"I'm telling!" Haymitch yells.

At that moment, Prim walks in with my father right behind.

"Tigris Mellarck!" my dad yells as he sees the bottle and cap in my hand. He yanks them both from my grasp and sets it back on the coffee table right in front of Haymitch. I watch as he picks it up and examines the top like I have some type of deadly disease.

"He asked me to taste it!" I yell.

"No I did not!" Haymitch yells back.

"I believe Tigris," Prim says. I smile. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my aunt?

"Why does no one trust me?" Haymitch asks.

"Want me to start at the beginning?" my dad asks.

I look around and notice the sun is setting. Meaning the reaping is only a couple hours away.

"Would mom kill me if I volunteered?" I thought. I guess I said it out loud because my aunt dropped her glass of water. The sound of the glass shattering makes me jump.

I look at my dad as he shakes his head. Aunt Prim quickly bends down and starts cleaning up the shattered pieces of glass.

"Why would you even ask?" my dad asks. His voice is very shaky. He quickly walks out of the room and I know he's going to have another episode.

When my parents were separated at the Third Quarter Quell, my dad was tortured by President Snow. They used venom from the Tracker Jackers to make him have hallucinations. The venom basically made my dad believe my mom was the cause for all of his sufferings. Sometimes, it seems like the venom is still there. Especially when something happens that remind him of back then. Me wanting to volunteer must be one of those things.

"Sorry for asking," I say quietly. I quickly run up the stairs to my bedroom. I go directly to the closet and sit inside. I grab my journal, which I hide behind the loose brick in the wall, and open it to the next clean page. I write…

_I think the only way I'll volunteer is if they choose someone I know. I know I said I'd do it no matter what, but I think my dad's going to go crazy if I do. I don't want him to try and kill my mom like he did back when they were fighting in the Rebellion. I just want to be able to fight in one Hunger Games, before my mom becomes President and ends them._

"Tigris?"

I quickly shut my journal and place it back in the hiding spot.

"Who is it?"

"Charl," he says.

Charl is my cousin. He's only 14. This is his third year at the reaping, meaning his name is in there three times. Two more then mine.

"What?" I try not to sound mean. since he's younger, I'm always nice to him. Whenever I come to 12, he acts like he's my older brother, which is kind of sweet, but also really annoying sometimes.

"Are you okay?" I hear him sit down against the door. He know not to open my door. This is like my secret place (though everyone knows about it).

"Yeah." I try to make myself seem okay, but like my mom, I'm not much of an actress.

"I can tell you're lying."

I try to make myself sound as nice as possible. "I'm just really tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay, but Tigris?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't volunteer unless you really, honestly, want to save the person they name."

I smile. "I planned on it."

He didn't say anything else. I heard him get up and walk out of my room. I quietly get out of the closet and get into my nighty. I slip into my bed and pull the covers up to my face.

Tomorrow will be the day I decide if I'm going to risk my life for someone else.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

-_The Reaping_-

"Wake up!" I roll over in my bed to see Prim standing over me.

"Why?"

"The reaping starts in two hours!"

I jump up. Was I really sleeping this long?

"Usually you'd wake up before sunrise! I thought you went to Haymitch's house!" she says. I start laughing.

"Since when do I go to his house?"

Prim giggled and sat a really pretty(and so not me)pink and white dress on my dresser.

"For the reaping?" I as. I walk over and touch it. "It's really soft!"

"I know." She walks over beside me. "I wore it for the reaping when I was 17. Since I don't have a daughter, I decided to let you have it."

"Wow!" I say. I was really excited. It may not be the usual "me" dress, but it's not very often that I get things from my aunt.

"I'm glad you like it." She pats my shoulder. "Now get dressed. If we don't leave soon, we'll never find a place to sit."

After she walks out, I quickly change and put my hair in a pony tail.

"Tigris!" I hear my dad yell. "Time to leave!"

I run down the stairs and look over at Charl.

"Nice suit!" I yell.

It is nice. It's black with a blue tie. "You look like you're getting married."

He smiles and hugs me. He knows I'm going to volunteer today. "Be careful," he whispers.

"I will," I whisper back. After he lets go, we leave to go to the square.

The whole way there, Charl never lets go of my arm. We play it off as him being nervous, but it's mostly because he knows he may never be able to see me in person after today.

I'm not as scared as he is though. I am completely ready to volunteer.

That's when I decide that no matter what happens, no matter who is chosen out of those gigantic glass bowls full of all the children of District 12's names, I will volunteer.

When we get to the square, me and Charl stand in line to get our fingers pricked. After we make it through, we are split up. I go to stand in a group of 17-year olds while Charl goes to stand with a group of 14-year-olds. I see him talking to Rephaim, his best friend.

I look down and hope that they start the reaping soon. I can feel my hands starting to sweat, also, I'm starting to get a major migraine.

It seems like hours before they start the reaping. Shilly, District 12's escort, taps the microphone. "Welcome to the 100th annual Hunger Games. Also known as the Fourth Quarter Quell." She goes through her script that she has said every year since she started being the escort. Then, at the end, as always, she adds, "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

She starts to walk over to the girls bowl. "Ladies first." She smiles as she walks over but then stops. She walks back to the microphone and smiles brightly.

"Actually, I'd like to be different this year, since this is my first Quarter Quell where I will be the escort. Let's do gentleman first." I groan then look around, hoping no one heard me. Shilly walks slowly over to the boy's glass bowl and reaches in. She jumbles up the pieces, then, finally, she picks out a card.

I hold my breath as she walks back over to the microphone.

She acts like she clears her throat as she carefully opens the card.

She looks out into the crowd and announces, "Rephaim Jayler!"

My mouth drops. Even though I was hoping it wouldn't be Charl, I think Rephaim is just as bad. They're best friends.

I watch as Rephaim walks out into the clearing.

I was half expecting Charl to volunteer, but he just collapses onto the ground.

Once Rephaim is up on the stage, Shilly clears her throat again.

"Now for the ladies." She walks over to the girl's glass bowl and slowly reaches in.

I hold my breath as she pulls out a card and walks back over to the podium.

I'm still holding my breath when she reaches her podium and clears her throat, yet again.

"Faucel Katchful!" she says.

I hear Faucel's parents scream.

Then I remember, Faucel is their only child. She's 12 and very nice and sweet. Her parents tried for years to have a child. They got lucky with Faucel, but they never got lucky again after that.

This is perfect!

I see the peacekeepers start to pull her to the stage.

"Wait!" I scream. "I volunteer!"

I run over to Faucel, and she just looks at me.

"You're precious to your family," I whisper to her. "You don't deserve to go the Hunger Games to get killed."

She smiles and hugs me.

"Tigris!" I hear my dad yell. I walk up onto the stage as the peacekeepers take Faucel to her family. I look out at my dad and smile.

"Okay, looks like Tigris will be our Lady Tribute!" Shilly yells. She smiles as she ends the reaping and ushers into the Justice Building.

I take one more look out into the crowd and catch my dad giving me the most horrendous look he has ever given me. Almost like he wants to kill me.

Which, if you think about it, is ironic, considering I may be dead in the next few weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

-The Train-

"How could you?" my dad yells at me.

We are in a room in the Justice building of District 12.

"She was the only child they would probably ever have!" I scream at him.

He's so mad, his eyes are actually turning red! (At least, that's what it looks like to me.)

"Mom will be mad! I know! But, I did it for Faucel's family!"

My dad just sits on the chair and hold his head.

"Dad," I say quietly, "I'll win. I want to protect Rephaim for Charl, too."

"I don't care who you want to protect!" he yells. He shakes his head. "Thank God I'm your mentor."

Great, even more time to spend with the guy who hates me. For the time being anyway.

"Katniss will kill me," he says. He stands up and walks to the door. "See you on the train."

With that, he walks out. Then Charl walks in.

"You've got to protect Rephaim!" he screams.

"Planned on it," I say. I hug him and then we sit on the couch.

"Just make sure you both survive," he said quietly.

"I will," I promise him.

He's then ushered out by a peacekeeper and Prim walks in.

"Funny, 25 years ago I was saying bye to your mom!"

I frown, then hug her.

"Be safe," she says. "Be like your mom."

"I'll try," I say. "But I am not making out with Rephaim!"

We both start laughing, then a peacekeeper come in. "Times up."

Prim hugs me one last time. "Be careful."

I nod as she's ushered out of the room.

Then Shilly comes in and holds out her hand.

"Hurry Tigris. Must not keep your dad waiting!" She smiles.

I stop. Of course, she knows who I am. She's seen me around the capital plenty of times.

"Don't let anyone know my real last name!" I scream. She watches me. "I want to be treated fairly in the games. I want my last name to be…" I think for a second, "Zeana!" I choose that because it's my aunt's last name. she married Kris Zeana.

"You want everyone to think your not Katniss's daughter…got it." Shilly hold the door as I walk out. She goes to the nest room to get Rephaim. Once he comes out, I walk over to him and he looks up.

"Charl said he told you to protect me," he says. "Just don't risk your life for me. He loves you. I'm only his friend.

I smile and nod. Though, I know I would if it came to it.

"Come, come!" Shilly yells. She's already at the entrance to go out to the train.

"I hate trains," I say. Rephaim laughs and I smile.

We both walk up onto the train and Rephaim gasps.

"How can you hate this?" he asks. I frown.

"After riding it for 17 years, it gets boring."

"I don't think I could ever be bored of this!" he yells.

"Tigris!"

I whirl around and see my dad sitting at the table. He's glaring at me, so I know he's really ticked off.

"Yes father?" I ask politely.

"Don't play all nice girl now," he says. "When you win, you're grounded."

When I win? I didn't thin my dad would ever say that. He has way too much faith in me.

"WHEN I do?" I ask. I frown again.

"He has faith in you Tigris, be happy!" Rephaim says when we are escorted to our rooms. I try to stay calm.

"No," I say. "He thinks I'm like my mom, and it really ticks me off." I choose my words carefully before I say, "I wonder what happens when they realize I'm nothing like my mom and I end up dying."

"You won't die," Rephaim smiles. He stops in front of the door that Shilly said was his. "I don't think you'll be one of the two alive," he says as he opens his door. "I know you'll be one!"

After that, I watch as Rephaim shuts his door. I walk a little farther until I reach my door.

When the light came on, I see my mom, standing only a few inches away.

I expected to be yelled at. Instead, all my mother did was smile and hug me.

"Mom?" I ask.

She hugs me tighter. "You know I have to treat you like everyone else…right?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, I know. Just make sure if you try killing me to make it quick and painless."

"Night-lock!" she yells.

I jump up and step back. "What?"

"There'll be night lock everywhere! Remember what it looks like?" she asks.

I nod. "Yeah, why?"

I can tell she's trying not to cry. "If it comes down to it…like sitting there while a guy is running at you with a spear, then eat the night-lock. So it's quick and painless."

"Okay. I'm not trying to die you know." I sit on my bed. "I'm going to try and win."

"Yes, I know." She sits beside me. "Just don't act like I did."

"Why?"

"Because," she says. I can see a tear rolling down her face. "I almost ended up killing your dad and I…" She looks down. "I was so stupid back then."

"No you weren't!" I yelled. "If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here right now."

My mom giggles. "Yeah, but it was still a stupid move. They could've let us both die."

"But!" I yell. "They didn't."

"Yeah," she says.

I frown and stare into my mom's grey eyes. "What happened to The Girl on Fire?"

My mom starts laughing. "They killed her after the 2nd Revolution."

I hug her. "No, I think she left when she saw me volunteer. She'll be back after I win though." My mom hugs me back, tighter.

"You're like your dad. You know that right?"

"Like my dad how?" I ask.

"He's the comedian, I'm more serious."

I smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

We both laugh.

"Okay, well I think you should go to sleep. We should be at the capital tomorrow around 5pm." My mom smiles and she stands up.

I smile and watch as she walks to the door.

"Dad hates me," I say. I keep smiling, but I look down.

"No, he's just in a state of shock," she says. She opens the door. "Don't worry, he'll come around eventually. Just give him some time." With that, she walks out of my room.

I quickly change and lay on my bed. For a train, it's a really smooth ride. I never really thought about it till now.

"I wonder who'll be participating in the games this year," I say out loud.

I keep thinking about it, till I fall into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Yes, I know. I'm a little slow when it comes to posting these :( I'm sorry! But, I don't know whether or not I even put a disclaimer on these things! xD Sooooo...**_

_**I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES! That credit goes to Suzanne Collins who is an amazing writer! :D**_

_**All I really own are some of the characters (Like the tributes and some of the other people...my friend also owns some of the tributes' names! We kind of co-writ the characters! :P (THERE'S YOUR PART!))**_

_**Anyway, I hope you like this one! This chapter is a little longer! :D**_

CHAPTER FOUR

-The Capital-

" Tigris! It's 6pm! Wake up!"

I open my eyes to see my dad standing over me. What time did he just say?

"What?" I ask in a sleepy/surprised voice.

"Get up and get dressed before I dress you myself?"

"No!" I throw my pillow at him. "Get out!" I start to giggle.

"Hurry up! You little brat," he says. He slams my door and I just stare at the door in bewilderment.

What the hell was that about?

I stand up and look outside. The surroundings usually tell me how close we are to the Capital. Sadly, that's how many times I use this train. I see the boulder in a shape of a dog and estimate about an hour till we get there. Damn, I slept a very long time.

"Tigris?" I hear Rephaim ask from outside my door, "You up?"

I hurry up and change into a blue blouse and black jeans. I look at my favorite red dress and decide not to wear it. I'll ask my fashion designer if I can wear it to the interview or during the "Grand Entrance".

I open the door and see Rephaim sitting across the hall against the wall.

"What?" I ask.

"Your dad's really mean…" he whispers quietly.

"What the hell did he do?" I shut my door and sit beside him.

"He said that if I live and you die, he'll kill me himself…"

"He did what?" I yell. Now I'm really ticked off. There was no reason for my dad to say that to Rephaim.

"I'll just tell me mom." I say.

"No use, your mom heard and already cussed him out."

It's hard to hear about my parents arguing. They never argue.

"Rephaim?"

I turn my head and see my dad. Rephaim keeps his head down.

"What do you want?" I ask, still very ticked off.

"I want to say sorry…to both of you."

"Why?" I ask.

"I'm just so ticked off at you for volunteering! I didn't hide it, but I took it out on Rephaim without even having a reason to be mad at him. You, well, it's because of you, but I'm your dad. I shouldn't have said all of that to you."

"Did mom tell you to say that?" I ask. Even if he does apologize, I still can't forgive him. He's been such a douche to both Rephaim and I.

"No. I was just told to apologize, and after a few minutes, I finally came to my senses and decided I was being a douche to you two."

Was he reading my mind? "Well, you were."

"It's okay, Mr. Mellarck," Rephaim says. "I forgive you."

I whirl around and look at him. His head is finally up and he's even smiling.

"Really?" my dad asks.

"Yeah," he says. "You apologized."

And that will probably be Rephaim's biggest downfall in the games…

"We're here!" Rephaim yells when he glances out the window. He jumps up and runs over to look out of it.

"Yay," I say sarcastically.

"Oh you know you love it here!" My mom smiles.

I roll my eyes and look back at my water that is sitting on the table in front of my.

"What's wrong?" my dad asks.

"I hate the capital," I say. "It's way too bright!" Just when I say that, we go into the tunnel that cuts through the mountains.

"Only at night," my mom says.

"And on very dark days," I reply.

"It's really cool," Rephaim says as he waits for the train to come out the other side.

"Most people in the districts only get to see this place on TV," my mom says.

"Why you so bubbly?" I ask my mom.

Mom's almost never bubbly, so this is kind of awkward.

"I'm just excited! Instead of just having me win, there'll be another generation!"

"You're so sure she'll win," Rephaim smiles.

"She's MY daughter. Of course she'll win!"

I stare at my mom with wide eyes.

"Mom, not trying to burst your bubble, but I'm not that much like you. Like I said last night." Then I thought about what she said. "I'm more like dad."

"Oh no you're not!" my dad yells. "Be like your mom and you'll survive! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her!"

"That sounds familiar!" My mom smiles at me.

"It's exactly what I said last night!" I giggle.

"Which is why I said you two are alike," she says. "But you have my survival skills."

"No I don't," I say. Then we finally exit the tunnel.

As soon as we exit it, my mom suddenly turns around and throws a fork straight at my face. I dodge it and then pick up a knife. It's kind of like a reflex of mine.

"See," my dad says. "You're like your mom."

"Wow Tigris!" Rephaim yells. "That was amazing!"

I look to my dad and then back to my mom. "Don't…ever…do…that…again!"

"It was just to prove a point," my mom says.

"Still, did you have to scare the…"

"Time to unboard!" Shilly runs in, interrupting my statement.

I look at Rephaim and walks out of the room to the door.

There was about a million people standing at the train chanting my name. Except they're not using Tigris Mellarck, their using Tigris Zeana! That means Shilly spoke to the president! He must have agreed and spoke to the entire capital!

"Shilly! You did it!" I yell.

"Thank me later," she whispers.

Rephaim and I walk off the train before my dad and mom. Shilly walks out in front of us to clear a path to the "hotel" we'll be staying at.

"Hurry up!" I call to Rephaim who has stopped to "admire" the surroundings.

"Sorry," he says once he has caught up.

Shilly smiles as my dad walks in and shuts the door. Then Rephaim frowns.

"Where's Katniss?"

"Went to the castle," Shilly says. She then rushes us to the elevator.

There's already four other people in the elevator when we get there. Two other tributes, their escort, and their mentor. The two tributes look about my age. They both frown when they see Rephaim.

The girl tribute is about my height. She has very long, light brown hair and, what looks like, pink eyes. The boy is a few inches taller then me with brown hair and really deep blue eyes, like the ocean. The color was really pretty, and I caught myself staring.

I get stuck nest to the blue eyed boy. I blush when my arm touches his. I mean, he is really cute.

"Hey Peeta," their mentor (I'm guessing) says. "Nice group this year." The mentor (again, I think) looks right at Rephaim, who is on the other side of me. I link my arm with his and smile at him. He frowns and looks at the ground.

"You'd be surprised," my dad says. He pats Rephaim's head and I see Rephaim smile a little.

At the fourth floor, they get off. We then continue up to the twelfth.

"District Four?" I ask.

Shilly nods.

"Friend of yours?" Rephaim asks my dad.

"No," he answers. "I don't even know who he was."

"Do you know the tribute's names?" I ask.

"No, I didn't really watch the other reapings yet."

I frown. The one time I actually kind of wanted to know a tribute's name.

"Okay come on!" Shilly yells when we finally reach the twelfth floor. "You must get some sleep! The Grand Entrance and interviews are tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" I ask.

"Three other trains aren't here yet. They got held up. We were the only train to arrive on time."

"Since when did they only put three districts on each train?" I ask.

"Since I can remember," Shilly says. "Why does it matter, we're here now." I frown.

I honestly thought all districts road on the same train. Tells you how much I actually pay attention.

"Anyway, Tigris, your room is down the hall to the right. Rephaim, yours is a little farther to the left," Shilly says.

Rephaim walks down to his room while I walk into my room.

The room is gigantic! I've lived here my whole life and yet I have never seen a room this big! The bed is almost 3 times too big for me. I walk over to the glass window and look down at the city. Being so high up, you can see everything.

I walk over to my bed and jump in. It's the softest bed ever.

It only takes one minute for me to fall asleep.

I guess the capital wants to make you as comfy as possible before you die.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, this one is a little longer! :D But, yes, a lot of name's may seem familiar because of anime or other books.**

**We used some name's from the House of Night series.**  
**We used like, two name's from Shugo Chara and one from Vampire Knight.**  
**The rest of unknown name's are probably ours that we made up ourselves!**

**Also, I'm going to start using Author notes! :D**

**Also, SORRY IT TOOK ME AWHILE!  
I'll try to make myself write a little faster! :o Just be patient with me!**

CHAPTER FIVE  
-The Grand Entrance-

"Good morning sunshine!"

I look up and see Nel, one of the really cool designers. I love him!

"Nel!" I yell. I jump up and hug him.

"I requested to be your designer!" he yells happily.

Nel's only 20, but he's probably the best designer in the capital. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He's almost six feet and he's skinny, yet he's also really strong.

Who does Rephaim have?" I ask.

"Remember my assistant last year?" he asks.

"Clara?" I ask.

"Yes, I told her to be Rephaim's designer because she'd the only one who'll help me and also listen to my ideas."

I giggle. "So what's the outfit plan for the Grand Entrance?"

"Want to be like your mom?" he asks.

I think about it. I should say no, I don't want to be like my mom.

"Oh!" he says. "That's right, you're not a Mellarck!"

"Yeah," I say. I look around.

"Ice!" Nel yells.

"What's ice got to do with District twelve?" I ask.

"They found ice three years ago, and they've been finding it ever since."

"Wait, where?" I ask. This was definitely news to me.

"In the coal mines!" Nel exclaims.

I stare in amazement. That's the first time I ever heard about that!

"Works for me!" I yell excitedly.

"Great!" He ushers me out of my room and to the elevator. I feel us go up a few more floors. I honestly don't know how big this place is…probably more then 40 floors. Though, you have to keep in mind, all the floors are kind of two floors…so that would be almost 80. Did I ever mention I hate math? (_**AUTHOR:** Yes…I actually do kind of DISLIKE math :P lol_)

When the elevator stops, I get out and look around. It's just like a dress shop. Just a really big dress shop. It has a little wash table and a pedestal where I guess I'm suppose to lay and get dressed at.

"I didn't expect the rooms to be like this," I say truthfully.

"Every designer has their own room. I just made mine more comfortable."

He drags me over to the table and says, "Get undress and lay on the table."

"Uh…" I look down and then back at him. He finally gets my drift and turns around.

I quickly take all my clothes off and lay down on the table. I pull the thin sheet over me before he turns around. He smiles, and then snaps his fingers.

Two capital ladies, also in their 20's, pop out from behind the dresses.

"Yes Nel?" they both ask in unison.

When I take a closer look, I can tell they're twins. The only real difference is the hair color.

"This is Flora," he says as the blue haired one walks over. She bows.

"And I'm Fauna!" The other one with purple hair squeals. She races over to stand beside her sister. Now that they're closer, it's even more obvious they are twins. They're identical.

"Make sure her hair is wavy!" Nel yells as he walks down a hallway opposite of the way the girls just came from. "I must begin her two outfits for today. Also, I need to talk to Clara."

Once he's gone, Flora smiles. "Okay, now you can pull down that blanket."

I shiver. No one has ever seen me naked, except for maybe my mom and dad when I was younger.

"It's fine," Fauna says, noticing my hesitation. "We're all girls here. We all have the same parts."

I am still nervous. Again, I'm not use to showing my body to anyone!

They both look at each other and then they look back at me. "Don't make us take it off of you ourselves."

I sigh then finally give in. After I let them pull down the blanket, they wash me down.

After my 'bath', they get rid of every strand of un-wanted hair, which is somewhat painful in certain areas.

They wrap me in a towel and sit me in a chair in front of a mirror.

"Now, wavy hair?" Fauna asks.

"I don't think she'll look good with wavy hair," Flora says.

"Neither do I," Fauna replies.

Flora runs down the hall that Nel walked down a few minutes earlier.

"What's she doing?" I ask quietly.

"She's going to tell him what we think," she says.

"What are you two thinking?" I ask.

"Pigtails!" she squeals.

"What?" I ask, completely shocked.

"Hell no!" We hear Nel yell from down the hall. "We don't want her to look like a little girl!"

"With braids!" I hear Flora yell.

"No! No! No!" Nel yells.

"How about a normal ponytail?" I yell.

There was complete silence for a few seconds.

"Sounds Perfect!" I could hear Nel say.

I sigh. At least he agreed with the ponytail. I hate when my hair just hangs there in my face.

Flora walks back out with a picture of a dress. "He wants your hair in a ponytail, but he wants some strands hanging down on the sides of your face. Like this."

I look at the picture. It looks really cool. The dress will probably make me look a lot older. It's strapless and a big 'v' chest. (_**AUTHOR: **I really wish I can show you guys what the dress looks like in my mind, but I'll leave it to your imagination I guess :D It looks really awesome though!_)

"Looks cool," I say. They set the picture on the make-up table. I then look down at my chest. Okay, I'm only size C, hopefully he puts that into the dress so there aren't any accidents. "Is that the actual dress I'll be wearing?"

"That's the interview dress. He's still working on the Grand Entrance outfit," Flora says while they begin working with my hair.

"So, my hair is going to stay like this for both?" I ask.

"Why mess with something that's perfect?" Nel says as he walks up behind me. I can see him smiling in the mirror.

"My hair isn't perfect," I say.

"It will be though."

I giggle and then continue to watch Flora and Fauna work on my hair in the mirror.

"Nice outfit!" I yell as I run over to Rephaim.

"You too," he says back once he sees me.

My outfit isn't a dress. It's more like a sequined suit which makes it look like I'm covered in ice. Same with Rephaim's, but his has fewer sequins.

We look around. We are in a gigantic room with all the other tributes, waiting for the Grand Entrance to start.

Then I see the District Four people. Including the really cute blue-eyed boy.

"Tigris?"

I look up to Rephaim who is now on top of the float.

"We're last," I say. "We don't need to go up there yet."

"That's not what I meant," he says. "Stop drooling over District Four boy."

"Rephaim!" I yell. I start blushing and look back at the blue-eyed boy. Now he's looking over at me, too. He smiles straight at me.

I quickly look away.

"Seriously, this isn't the Match Making Games," I look over at my dad who is almost right beside me. "This is the Hunger Games."

"Sorry," I say. I climb up onto the float. When I get up, I fall right on my ass. I start laughing and Rephaim does, too. My dad covers his mouth, trying so hard not to laugh.

Rephaim helps me up when we both finally stop laughing.

"Looks like the blue-eyed District Four boy thought it was funny, too," Rephaim whispers in my ear.

"What?" I ask. I look back at the boy and he's smiling at me and he puts his right thumb up. I blush and smile back.

"Aw," Rephaim says. "How adorable!"

"Just remember," my dad says. "You may have to kill that blue-eyed boy in the next few weeks."

Thanks for putting that image in my head! Though, I'll make sure I give him night lock if I have to kill him. That way even if I do immobilize him, he'll die fast.

"Okay, time to begin!" a voice yells over the speakers.

Suddenly, everyone got up onto their floats.

"First up, District One! Lilly Kreamer and Kolona Lastoe!'

I glanced at the two tributes as they made their way out of the room.

The girl looked only 12, while the boy looked 18. The girl had blonde hair, while the boy had jet black hair.

They were literally complete opposites.

I giggled. They were wearing really puffy outfits. Coming from the Luxury District must suck.

We heard cheers coming from the other room.

"Next up is District Two! Catmint Hawthorne and Kye Bismarck!"

I decide to continue to check out the other tributes. This one was a weird pair. The girl had red hair and the boy had orange hair. It even looked like the boy had red eyes! Their outfits were also made completely out of stones.

"Hawthorne?" my dad asks. After a few seconds of him thinking, he freaks out. "Oh my God! Gale!"

As the cheering continues, I look down at my dad. "What?"

"That must be Gale's daughter," he says. "She looks a lot like him."

"Nest up is District Three! Dahlia Fama and Heath Keller!"

I look back over. The girl had black hair and the boy had orange hair. They both looked around my age. They looked really cool though.

"Is three electronics?" Rephaim asks. I nod. "You can tell." He's right.

There was another set of fake cheers. Yes, I call them fake.

"Now, District Four! Nyx Nevaeh and Aido Oceana!"

"Well, his eyes match his name, "Rephaim says.

I blush. Aido glances at me before they leave, which makes my cheeks turn even redder.

"Snap out of it!" Rephaim yells. "You're drooling again!"

"No I am not!" I yell. I wipe my mouth with my arm just to make sure. I was right, I'm not drooling.

"District Five!" The announcer says. "Amu Morsal and Ikuto Yommy!"

I giggle. Their names sounded funny.

I look at the tributes. The girl had red hair and the boy had black hair, though it looked blue in this light. Again, around my age.

Then they kiss.

My mouth drops. Holy shit!

"What the hell?" I yell.

"Hmm, I guess they're dating," Rephaim says.

"Damn it," I whisper. Now all the sponsors will probably go for them…

After their done, the announcer comes back on.

"District six! Kerria Leona and Dill Pieys!"

The girl has really dark brown hair. She keeps looking at the ground. The boy had blonde hair and was the complete opposite. He noticed the girl being a little shy and took her hand. Then he whispered something in her ear which made her laugh.

"Aw, that's adorable," Rephaim says.

"District Seven is represented by Icee Chrome and Cosmo Nightly!"

Hey, he changed up the announcements.

The girl had snow white hair and the boy had blonde hair. The girl was maybe my height, while the boy was almost six feet!

"Damn! He's tall!" Rephaim yells.

"Language!" I yell at him. He just smiles.

"He'd be a good ally," he says.

I shake my head.

"Next is District Eight with Aphrodite Lars and Dutch Kikly!"

The girl looks like a complete snob. She has blonde hair and bright blue eyes. More like the sky rather then the ocean. Also, she's standing like she owns the float. The boy looks a lot nicer. He has blonde hair and has a very warm and comforting smile.

"She looks like she comes from royalty," Rephaim says. I agree. There were a lot of crazy looking people here. There was definitely a variety.

"Next, of course, District Nine! Neferet Klaw and Stark Mayx!"

The girl's hair was either dirty blonde or very light brown, you can't tell. Also, her hair was super long. The boy was really fucking hot! He has dark brown hair and reminds me of some sort of prince from a fairy tail. Though, I still believe Aido is hotter though.

"All these people look amazing!" Rephaim says.

"I know," I whisper. I watch the float until I can't see them anymore.

"District Ten! Kramisha Renolds and Sedum Funnal!"

The girl has white, almost silver, hair and the boy has red hair. There wasn't anything special about them, except Sedum looks a lot like Rephaim. I mean, age and face wise.

After their float left, I look at the last float. District Eleven. I frowned. They look a lot alike.

"Now welcome District Eleven with Rose Casey and Yarrow Casey!"

"Oh my God!" I yell. You can definitely tell they were related! They had to be brother and sister. They were practically twins! They were almost the same size and they both had black hair! They left the room and I glanced at Rephaim to see him wide-eyed. He noticed them, too.

"Now for the final District! District Twelve with Tigris Mellarck and Rephaim Jayler!"

Now was our shot! The float began to move and we left the room into an even bigger room. And I mean bigger room. This room was gigantic. You could have fit a skyscraper in it! I couldn't begin to estimate how tall it actually was.

"Tigris…"Rephaim says. I grab his hand and smile at him.

"It's okay," I say.

He takes a deep breath and then we both smile.

We wave to the people in the stands who are cheering for us. Then we finally reach the big circle at the end where everyone else is at. We stop beside District Four, of course that would be my luck.

President Snow stands up and starts to speak. I ignore him and look over at Aido. He was already looking at me. We both smile.

"Tigris," Rephaim whispers.

I stop looking at Aido, sadly, and look over at Rephaim. "What?"

"Pay attention," he whispers.

I nod and stare at President Snow to make it look like that I'm paying attention just to make Rephaim happy.

After President Snow's done, we get to leave.

It's not too long before I'm back in Nel's dress studio.

"Welcome back," Nell says. "You did amazing!"

"Thanks," I say, smiling.

"Ready to get ready for the interview?"

I look at the dress in his hands. It was the same dress in the picture.

I sigh; I guess I should get ready.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I say.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry! I know I haven't uploaded anything for awhile! It's mostly because I didn't really have enough time because it was the end of the school year and I had a lot of stuff to get done and turn in plus I had finals I had to study for! Since I am now done and it is summer, I should be writing a lot more!**_

_**Also, keep reviewing people! I only got one review and I'd really like it if more people would tell me how they like it! :D (Or dislike it...either way...but if you dislike it...EXPLAIN PLEASE! I'd really like to know what I need to do to make this better!)**_

_**And some of the name's, like I said, are from different books, animes, mangas, whatever! Lol :P Also, I know there was a Tigris was in Mockingjay, but I really do love that name and I forgot all about that when I started writing this! I just love tigers and I thought of "Tigris" off of Kung Fu Panda and so yeah! NOTHING TO DO WITH TIGRIS IN THE STORY! (I might have already said that but a couple of my friends were talking about it so I was just double checking! Lol!)**_

CHAPTER SIX  
**THE INTERVIEWS (PART I)**

"Wow honey! You look amazing!" my dad yells at me when I walk into the backstage area. All the other tributes are already there. "Though, I'm not sure if I'd approve of the top."

"Thanks Peeta," I say. It feels weird saying my dad's real name, but no one is supposed to know he's actually my dad.

"Hey Tigris," Rephaim says as he walks up. He's wearing a bright blue suit.

"Nice suit," I say.

"Nice dress!" he yells.

"I agree." I turn around to see who said it.

Of course, it was Aido, the blue-eyed boy from District Four.

"Thanks," I say. I blush. "Nice…outfit?"

His outfit was definitely not a suit. It looked like a diving outfit and they just tried making it into a suit. They failed horribly.

"It's stupid," he says. "They could have just used a normal suit. This thing is just plain stupidity."

"Yeah, you do look pretty dumb," Rephaim says, trying not to laugh at him.

Aido laughs and smiles, "Yeah, I do."

"Well, is anyone nervous?" my dad asks.

"Yes!" Rephaim yells.

"Definitely," Aido says.

"Not really," I say.

They all look at me.

"What? I'm just planning on ignoring the fact that everything I say and do is being watched by millions."

Aido smiles, "You're lucky. You two are last."

"How's that being lucky? I'm the one who has to finish the interviews off," Rephaim says.

Aido frowns and puts his arm on Rephaim's head like he's an arm rest. "Don't worry! You'll do great!"

I giggle.

Aido looks at me and smiles.

"Your eyes are really pretty," he says.

That makes my cheeks go completely red.

"She thinks your eyes are pretty, too," Rephaim says, and then he starts laughing.

God, I hate him right now!

"A lot of people say my name's perfect," Aido says.

"That's what I said when I heard your last name!" Rephaim says.

"Yeah," Aido says. Then he looks at me. "So, you really think my eyes are 'pretty'?"

"Well…I mean…I guess…" I stutter.

He walks over to me and smiles. "I'll protect you in the games. If you need me, just whistle!" Then he walks away.

"I wonder how many chicks he's said that to today," my dad remarks when Aido is out of earshot.

"Mr. Mellarck, he seems really nice, and he's going to protect your daughter, be happy." Rephaim says. He says it quietly so that way no one hears the 'daughter' part.

"But…" he starts.

"I may end up having to kill him…" I finish. They both look at me and I try not to cry.

"How can you be attached already?" Rephaim asks me quietly so my dad doesn't hear.

I shrug. "He seems really nice. I'd hate to kill someone who I actually might have gotten along with."

"Welcome everyone!" The TV interviewer says. "Today is a very special day! We'll be interviewing every tribute individually."

I look at the TV screen that's in front of me. The guy has purple hair, and it looks like it's fake. He also has on a purple suit with a purple tie.

Talk about someone being obsessed with a certain color! Never thought I'd see someone really like purple.

"First tribute shall be Lilly Kreamer! She's from Luxury District!" He announces.

I ignore her as she passes us. I see her walking up onto the stage on the screen.

Her hair's in pigtails and she's wearing a really pretty dress. Everyone cheers, but stops as she sits down.

"Hello Lilly," he says.

She starts at the camera. "Um, hi…"

"Shy?" he asks.

"No, I just wish I wasn't here," she says.

Everyone was dead silent. "Why?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?

"No," he says. "Can you tell us please?"

"I don't want to die," she says.

"Aw," the audience says. I roll my eyes. Who actually wants to die? I mean, seriously?

"Well, maybe you'll be one of the winners! Just pair up with a guy who is big and strong!" he says.

"Nah," she says. "I'll win by myself."

"Well then," he says. "I wish you luck." He looks down then back up. "It's time for the next interviewee! Thank you Lilly."

"No problem," she says. She stands up and bows as the audience applauds. She then walks off the stage.

"Next is another tribute from District One! Kalona Lastoe!"

I look back to the black haired boy and he winks at me and I roll my eyes and look back at the TV screen.

A few seconds later, Kalona walks up onto the stage. He waves as the crowd cheers then sits down next to the interviewer guy.

"Hello Kalona," he says.

"Hello right back," Kalona says.

"So tell me about your family," he says.

"Nothing to tell," Kalona says.

The guy smiles, "Aw come on."

"He's persistent," I whisper.

"Castro has always been persistent," a voice says behind me.

I turn to see Aido, again.

"How do you know his name?" I ask, trying not to blush. I ignore the interview for a minute.

"I'm guessing you space out when you're forced to watch the games?"

I nod. I look back at the interview. Aido stands beside me and puts his arm around my waist, which makes me blush even more, but I ignore it and continue to watch.

"So, your parents work in a factory?" Castro asks.

"Yes," he says. "Though, my dad's the owner."

"Oh!" Castro says as he smiles brightly.

"Yeah," Kalona says. Then he frowns.

"What's wrong?"

"Just thinking," Kalona says.

"About?"

"My brother…" Kalona says sadly.

"Oh, is he sick?"

"No. He was killed by a peace keeper last year," Kalona says.

My eyes go wide.

"That's…wow," Aido says beside me.

I continue to watch.

"Wow," Castro says. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"It's fine," Kalona says, trying to smile.

"Well," Castro says. "That's all we have time for."

Kalona nods and stands up to bow. He then walks off the stage as the audience claps.

"Wow," I say.

Aido squeezes closer as more people walk over to watch.

"Now please welcome Catmint Hawthorne from District Two!" Castro says.

Everyone starts to look at Catmint as she walks up the steps, out of the room and up on to the stage.

I think of the picture of Gale and his wife in my mom's room. Then I realize dad's right! She is their daughter! She looks just like her mom!

She sits down beside Castro.

"Hello Catmint," Castro says.

"Hello," she says, shyly.

"You have a very pretty name," Castro says.

"Thanks," she says. "My dad named me after his best friend from when he was younger."

My immediate thought was my mom.

"Who was your dad's friend?" Castro asks.

"Katniss," she says.

My dad laughs behind us, "Knew it!"

"The same Katniss that…"

Catmint interrupted him, "Yes, that one."

"Wow," Castro says.

"Yeah," she says.

"Well, I think it's time to move on," Castro says.

As Catmint stands, everyone applauds.

She walks off the stage as we all wait to hear the rest of the tribute's stories.

"Next up, please welcome Kye Bismarck from District Two!"

Again, everyone applauds as the vampire kid steps out onto the stage.

"Wow," Castro says as he sits down beside Kye. "Nice eyes."

"Thanks," he answers.

"So, tell us about yourself," Castro says.

"I'm allergic to the sun."

"Sounds like a vampire to me!" Castro says, laughing.

The audience starts to laugh, then Kye smiles evilly.

"Maybe I am."

With that, Castro says, "Well, um, maybe you should go backstage. The light may kill you out here."

Everyone continues to laugh as Kye stands up and bows. He walks off the stage.

"Poor kid," Aido yells over the mumbling that everyone is doing.

I agree. Everyone is going to check to see if he really is a vampire now. I just hope my mom goes easy on the amount of sunlight that they allow into the arena.


	7. Chapter 7

_**YAY! I told you I'd be creating these a lot faster now that I am out of school! :D This is the shortest one though...and yes...I am only going to do the interviews as two Districts at a time...if I didn't...I don't know how long it would turn out to be!**_

CHAPTER SEVEN  
**THE INTERVIEWS (PART II)**

"Next up is Dahlia Fama from District Three!"

"She must love the dark like the vampire dude," Aido whispers in my ear.

I look at the girl on the TV and then look at Aido. "Why you say that?"

"The way she looks."

Of course, I guess a lot of people love judging people by their cover. Then again, here, usually you can tell a person by how he or she dresses. So I guess it's not as bad as it sounds.

"Hello," Castro says as Dahlia sits down.

"Hey," she says.

"So, tell us about yourself."

"Well I am not a vampire, that's for sure!"

Everyone laughs and I look up at Aido. He shrugs, "Or I could be wrong."

"Tell us about your family?"

"I live with my boyfriend. My parents hate me," she says.

Everyone yells, "Aw!"

"Why would you say that? I'm sure they love you!" Castro says.

"I ran away. So I'm pretty sure that they hate me a lot more then they use to."

"Why'd you run away?"

"Again, they hated me. They treated me like shit."

Everyone gasps.

"Why does everyone seem really into Dahlia?" I ask.

Aido shrugs. "I don't know."

"Do you think you'll win?" Castro asks her.

"No. I doubt it."

Again, everyone gasps.

"Damn people, at least she's honest!" Aido says. "No need to get all worked up."

"Well, thank you for being honest, but I think that's all the time we have. Thank you and good luck," Castro smiles.

After she walks off the stage, I look at Aido. "Will you win?"

"Hopefully," he says. "Don't worry. I'll protect you!"

I blush and continue to watch the screen.

"Next, and also from District Three, is Heath Keller!"

As Heath walks up onto stage, I look at Aido, District Four is next.

"Hello Heath," Castro says, which makes me looks back at the TV.

"Hi," Heath says. He looks down at his knees.

"Is something wrong?" Castro asks.

"Just a little shy," Heath says.

The audience says, "Aw."

"Wow," Aido says. "Wonder how they'll react to Nyx and I."

I nod and continue to watch.

"So, what does your dad do?" Castro asks.

"He works on TVs."

"What about your mom?" Castro asks.

"She died giving birth to me," he says. "I never knew her, but my dad says she was amazing and that I act a lot like her."

"Aw," I say, along with the audience.

"I'm so sorry," Castro says. "It's time for us to move on. Thank you for sharing your story with us."

Heath nods and stands up. After he bows, he walks off stage. I look up at Aido and he smiles. He hugs me closer. "Nyx is next, and then it's my turn."

I nod and relax in his arms.

For once I'm not blushing!

"Next up is Nyx Nevaeh from District Four!" Castro says.

"Wish me luck!" I hear Nyx yells from behind me somewhere.

I keep looking at the TV. I see her walk up on to the stage.

"Hello Nyx," Castro says.

"Hi!" Nyx says excitedly.

"You seem very happy," Castro says.

"I am!"

"Why?" he asks.

"The capital is amazing!" she says. "There are so many bright lights!"

Everyone laughs.

Aido just keeps smiling.

"Though, why can't you share?"

There's complete silence. Uh-oh, she shouldn't have said that. What's she thinking? I look at Aido who is still smiling.

"I'm serious!" Nyx says smiling. "A lot more people would like the capital if it would just share some of the luxuries that we don't have."

Aido starts to chuckle.

"What are you laughing?" I ask.

"She's not going with what we told her to go with. She's going with the thing that I told her could get her killed," he says.

"Oh…my…" I say. Aido is laughing at Nyx who is, at the moment, basically committing suicide!

"Then again, we probably wouldn't be very nice to you because you weren't very nice to us, so never mind!" Nyx says, smiling.

"That's Nyx for you," Aido says. "Way too daring."

"God, I'd say!" I yell.

"Well, that's all we got for you. Thank you Nyx."

Nyx nods and stands up to walk off stage.

"You're next," I say quietly.

"I know," Aido says. He kisses my cheek and starts walking over to the stairs.

"Next is Aido Oceana from District Four!" Castro says.

I see Aido walk up on to the stage.

Once Aido sits down, Castro looks at his eyes. "Nice eyes."

"Thanks." Aido says.

"Your name suits you."

Aido nods.

"So, tell us, anyone you want to win for back home?"

"Yes, my family," he says.

"I meant more on the lines of a girl," Castro says.

"Well, no back home. I kind of met her here. And no, it's not Nyx. She's just my friend," Aido says.

"Really? Who? What District?" Castro asks.

"You'll meet her," Aido says. "She has a really beautiful dress on. And her hazel eyes are pretty amazing, too!"

"Blue dress, hazel eyes, got it!" Castro says, laughing.

I start blushing and Rephaim runs to my side.

"Rephaim…" I say quietly.

"What?"

"How many girls are wearing a blue dress?"

"Other then you, just one," he answers.

"What color eyes does she have?" I ask.

"Um, definitely blue," he answers.

"So he is actually talking about me?" I ask. I look at Rephaim and he smiles.

"Guess so," he says.

"So will you be protecting this girl?" Castro asks.

"Of course I'll protect her!" Aido yells.

"So we get to watch a little love story unfold?"

Aido nods. "Though, I'm pretty sure that she won't want one to happen."

"Why?"

"Because, if it was me, her, and her fellow District Tribute…she'd probably kill me," Aido says.

"How are you so sure?"

"I just know," Aido says, looking down at the floor.

The audience responds with another round of "Awes".

"Well that's all we have time for," Castro says.

As I see Aido stand up, I know he's right. I promised Charl that I'd protect Rephaim. I'm not going to forget that promise.

Even for a blue-eyed prince.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, sorry about not uploading for awhile. If you checked out my profile, it does say that my boyfriend left for basic training at Fort Benning, GA. I'm a little depressed but I'm slowly starting to deal with it! So sorry for the lateness of the chapter! I'll try really hard to work faster!**

CHAPTER EIGHT  
**THE INTERVIEWS (PART III)**

"Do you think you'll actually win?"

I look around and see another girl in a blue dress walk up to me.

"No," I say. I just watch as she rolls her eyes.

"Everyone in this room knows that the blue-eyed boy was talking about you," she says.

I nod. Duh, I'm the only girl with a blue dress and hazel eyes.

"And your point is?" I ask.

"I'm going to kill you first," she says smirking. She turns, dramatically, and walks away.

"I think her name was Icee," Rephaim says.

"Well…her name is a mirror image of her heart then," I say. "She's a bitch."

Rephaim laughs then he turns back to look at the TV screen.

"Do you know who the District Five Tributes are?" Rephaim asks.

"Um," I think back to the Grand Entrance. "Oh, yeah, they are the two who randomly kissed."

Rephaim nods and looks at the clock. "This is going to take forever." He looks up at me. "It felt like forever to get to this point."

"I just wish Aido could come back and stand with me," I say. "It was nice having someone who thought this stuff was just as stupid as I think it is."

"Plus, your prince could have told Icee off," Rephaim says. "Considering he said he'd protect you, I don't think you'd have to worry about that jealous chick. He'd probably kill her in a split second if she came near you."

I laugh and nod. He's probably right.

"Next up is Amu Morsal from District Five!" Castro says.

The audience applauds and I watch as a girl with auburn hair walks up on to the stage.

"Amu…that's a strange name," Castro says.

"It's a District thing," she says smiling.

"I see that," Castro looks at her. "Nice grey dress."

"Thanks," she says.

"Now, we all saw you kiss your fellow tribute…"

Amu cuts him off. "No, he kissed me. I didn't expect it at all."

"Okay, well, we all saw your fellow tribute kiss you," Castro corrects himself. "How'd that feel?"

She looks up at all the people in the audience. "Well…I liked it if that's what you mean."

The audience says, "Aw!"

"Well, tell us about your family," Castro says.

"My mom and dad work in the power-plant and my little sister, Ami, is only 5," Amu says.

"Wow, Ami is extremely close to Amu. You'd think you two would be twins."

"Well, the way she is acting, we might as well have been twins," Amu says.

The audience laughs. I swear there's a huge box somewhere telling them what to do when. This is just too perfect.

"Well, sometimes fate kind of screws up some things," Castro laughs. "Anyway, that's all we have time for today. Thank you Amu."

Amu nods, stands up, bows, then walks off stage. At least I don't have a little sister to worry about.

"Next up is Ikuto Yommy from District Five!" Castro says.

Suddenly, a very handsome guy in a grey tux walks up onto the stage. For the power-plant district, they have some pretty amazing designers.

He bows and sits next to Castro. "Thank you for joining us today."

"I didn't really have a choice now did I?" he asks smiling at Castro.

Castro nods, "Well, may we ask, why did you kiss Amu?"

"Because, I've liked her for awhile now and I just thought it was the right time to tell her," he says.

"You tell her by kissing her?" Castro asks.

"Correct," Ikuto says.

"Wow," I whisper, "That's awesome."

"What?" Rephaim looks at me.

"Tell a girl you like her by kissing her. That's better then what Peeta did to my…I mean Katniss, and also better then what Aido did for me."

Rephaim laughs and then glances back at my dad who was talking to Nel.

"Well, Ikuto, tell us about your family," I hear Castro say so I look back at the screen.

"Well, my real dad died when I was 11, so I have a stepdad now," he says.

"Oh, I am so sorry for your loss," Castro says.

"Oh, it's fine, my step-dad is pretty awesome," he says, "He's like a dad to me."

"Well, that's good to hear…any siblings?"

"Yes, an older sister. Her name is Utau, she's 20."

"Well, at least you don't have any siblings," Castro says.

Ikuto nods, then Castro says, "That's all the time we have for you today. We wish you the best of luck."

"And may the odds be ever in my favor?" he asks.

The crowd laughs and applauds as he stands up and bows then walks off the stage.

"Aw I was going to use that!" Rephaim yells. "He stole my idea."

I laugh and pat his head, "You can still use it…just say, 'Since I am the last tribute of the day, I just want to wish all the other tributes good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.'"

Rephaim smiles and nods, "Awesome idea!"

"You're welcome," I say.

"Now please give a warm welcome to District Six's tribute, Kerria Leono!" Castro says which causes me and Rephaim to look back at the screen.

A really pretty girl with a very shiny silver dress with a red bow around the waist, walked up onto the stage with who I think is the District's Escort.

"Hello Castro," the Escort says.

"Thimlette," Castro says, surprised, "May I ask why you came out with your tribute?"

"It seems like we have chosen a child without a voice-box this year," she says. She lets Kerria sit down in the chair while she stands behind her.

"Oh, my, that must be terrible!" Castro yells.

"Yes, well, she has written some things down on the paper that we thought you may ask, so you can start asking away, I will be the one answering for her," Thimlette says as she takes a piece of paper out of her pocket.

"Okay, well then, what is your family like dear?" Castro directs the question to Kerria, but he knows that Thimlette will answer.

"Having no voice-box must suck!" I yell.

Rephaim nods.

"I have been spoiled almost my whole life due to my inability to speak. My parents stopped working when I turned 7 because that's when they realized something was wrong. I am their only child." Thimlette reads off the paper for Kerria.

"Do you have anyone special?"

"I do not have a boyfriend, though I have many friends. I'm an excellent listener and I like helping people in any way I can," Thimlette answers.

"Well, thank you for your time, I'll let you go and rest up for what is to come," Castro says.

Kerria does a little curtsy before she walks off the stage. She smiles at the audience and blows them a kiss as she walks off.

"Well, wasn't she a little cutey-pie," I hear my dad say behind me.

I turn around. "What?" I ask.

"She was a little cutey," he says. "Maybe if you act like her, you'll get some sponsors!"

"I'm nothing like that though!" I yell.

He shrugs, "Just a suggestion."

I roll my eyes as Castro announces the next tribute.

"Please welcome District Six's other tribute, Dill Pieys!" Castro says.

A boy, who was actually very cute, walked up on the stage. I started to blush. He was really cute! Not Aido cute, but still…pretty damn cute!

"Don't droll," I hear my dad say.

"I'm not!" I yell.

"Good, I heard from his escort that he has a big reputation in District Six for hooking up with every girl in his age range," he says.

I look at him in amazement. Damn, this Dill really gets around.

"Welcome Dill," Castro says.

"Hi Castro," Dill says, sounding a little too excited.

"So tell me, Dill, what's your family like?" he asks.

"Well, my mom died giving birth to my little brother, Harry, when I was 2. My dad died not too long after that of a heart attack. Um," Dill looks down. "I live with my best friend Kyle and his family. My brother lives with us, too."

"Wow, that's one hell of a story!" Castro says.

"Yeah well, I didn't really know my parents all that well, so I can't say anything good about them. My foster family says they were the nicest people in the whole District."

"That's pretty cool if you ask me," Castro says. "Such a shame they died."

"Yeah," Dill says.

I actually feel pretty bad for this guy. Here I am lying about who my family is, and he doesn't even have a real family to talk about.

"Do you have a special someone at home?" Castro asks.

"Well, right now I don't have a girl," Dill says. Then he smirks, "I already dated all of the girls in my District."

Wow, dad was right about a guy being no good for once!

"You dated all the girls in your District?" Castro asks, astounded.

"Well, all the ones that are my age or 2 years younger," Dill says.

"Well," I say. "Talk about a man-whore!"

"Agreed," Rephaim says.

"Well, that's all we have for today," Castro says. "Thanks for sharing your story."

"No problem," Dill says. He stands up and winks at the crowd without even bowing and walks right off the stage.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, sorry I haven't wrote for awhile. This summer just kept getting worse, so I kind of gave up on trying to write anything for a whole month. I am starting school again so hopefully I can keep up and keep writing! Again, I am so sorry.**

CHAPTER NINE  
**(THE INTERVIEWS PART IV)**

"Hey! Next up is District Seven, and if I'm right, that's the District that one Icee girl was from!" Rephaim says.

"Yay," I say sarcastically.

"What? I really want to see if she'll go with her mean and rude attitude, or if she'll stick with a nice, polite, and completely not her attitude," he says.

"Next up, please welcome, from District Seven, Icee Chrome!" Castro yells at the crowd.

The crowd applauds while Icee walks up onto the stage in her blue dress.

"Wait, what does that dress have to do anything with Lumber?" I ask.

"The trees soak up water for nutrients," Rephaim says. "They went with the water thing."

I shake my head. Everyone has something new this year.

"Welcome Icee," Castro says.

Icee nods and looks at Castro. "The girl that the boy from District Four was talking about is from District Twelve, not me," she says.

"Oh well, thanks for telling us," Castro says.

"Yeah well, it's stupid that he didn't just tell you," Icee says.

"Yes, well, anyway, tell us about your family," Castro says.

Well, now I feel like I'm being watched! I turn my head and see everyone looking at me. Ugh, talk about feeling awkward.

"Mean and rude attitude?" Rephaim asks.

"So far, yes," I say.

"Well, my mom and dad own a lumber company and I have two twin sisters. We are triplets," she says. "Of course, I'm the prettiest!"

"Conceited much?" I whisper.

"Wow," he says. "I bet. What are their names?"

"Darcy and Stormy," she says.

"I like your names!" Castro says.

"Of course, our parents didn't want us to have stupid names. She made sure we had names no one would ever forget," she says.

"What is up with this chick?" Rephaim asks. "She's so full of herself."

"Talk about a snob," I say. "Doesn't she know she's supposed to be nice so that she'll get sponsors?"

"Do you think you'll win the Hunger Games?" Castro asks her.

"Of course I will!" she says. "My sisters and I always practiced just in case we were chosen! We'd throw knives at pictures of people we hated."

"Okay, well that's all we have time for. Thank you Icee," he says.

"My pleasure," she says. She stands up and curtsies and then exits off the stage.

"Well, I really hope she dies first," I say. "I know that's mean to say, but she's way too conceited."

"She probably will die first," Rephaim says. "Knowing most the people in here, they'd want to prove that chick wrong."

"I want to prove that chick wrong!" Someone yells from right behind me.

I turn around and see a really tall boy, around my age, looking at the screen.

He looks at me and jumps back. "Oh, I'm sorry if I screamed in your ear!"

"It's fine," I say smiling.

"Good," he says. "I thought you were going to like…shoot me with an arrow or something."

I look at him in amazement. "What?"

"Well, you're Tigris, right?"

I nod and he smiles. He leans down to whisper in my ear. "I know you're actually Tigris Mellarck. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone." He stands up straight. "I was actually hoping that we could team up in the beginning, then closer to the end when there's only a few of us left, we could split up."

I look at him, I really don't want him to tell anyone. Maybe if I turn him down he'll tell! "That's an awesome idea!" I say. "But, I got Rephaim here to take care of."

"Oh, that's fine, I'll help you watch over him! He's your cousin's friend, right?" he asks.

"No, brothers friend," I say, hoping he understands what I mean. How does he know who I am?

"Oh, right!" He winks at me. "Mind if I watch over here? Some of the people who are left are really snobby."

"Usually those people would be gone by now," I say. I know, because my mom said most of the snobs were in the first few Districts. Having snobs in the last few is unheard of.

"Well, they aren't," he says. "Oh, and my name is Stark."

"Nice to meet you Stark," I say. "I'd introduce me but you seem to already know me." Stark laughs.

"So, Cosmo, tell us about your family," I hear Castro say.

"Oh, we missed some things!" I yell as I turn around.

"Not much, he just called Cosmo Nightly and asked how he was," Rephaim says. "He said he was good."

"Well, my mom and dad both work for Icee's parents and I'm an only child," Cosmo says.

"Do you know Icee personally?" Castro asks.

"No," he says. "She was in my class, she wasn't very smart and she would always talk back to the teacher."

"Not a very good student?" Castro asks.

Cosmo shakes his head. "No."

"Well, do have a girlfriend back home?" Castro asks.

"What's up with the girlfriend questions? He doesn't seem to ask the girls boyfriend questions." I say.

"Maybe he's secretly gay and he wants to see what his competition is for those guys!" I hear Stark say. I start laughing. This guy's really funny, I'll give him that.

"Um, no," Cosmo says blushing.

"Do you like anyone?" Castro asks. "You seem to be blushing a lot.

"Well, there is this one girl, but she isn't from our District and she's a little too old for me," Cosmo says, looking down.

"May I ask who this girl is?" he asks.

Cosmo shakes his head. "No, I don't really want anyone knowing. That's too personal for everyone in the world to know."

Castro nods in understanding. "Understandable."

"Yeah," Cosmo says, still blushing. I wonder who his crush is. I'm really interested in this kid now.

"Well, that's all we have time for. Thank you so much Cosmo, and good luck with your crush!"

"Thank you," Cosmo says. He stands up and bows, then he walks off the stage.

"Is anyone else wondering who the hell his crush is?" I ask.

"Not really," Stark says. "That is his personal secret."

I nod. "District Eight is next, right Rephaim?"

"Yeah," he says. "I think their names were…Aphrodite and Dutch?"

"Hi!"

I whirl around and see a girl and a boy. The girl is the one who said hi, I think they are both from District Eleven.

"Uhm, hi?" I say. Rephaim turns around and blushes at the sight of the girl.

"Hi," the boy says, "My name is Yarrow and this is my sister, Rose. We're both from District Eleven."

"I just wanted to say that Aido has an awesome taste in girls!" Rose says, excitedly. "You're really pretty."

Rephaim, still blushes, smiles at Rose, who smiles back.

"Well, we better get back to our mentor, come on Rose," Yarrow says, noticing Rephaim looking at his sister.

"Thanks Rose," I say.

"No problem! Good luck!" Rose says as she is dragged away from us by her brother. She smiles one last time at Rephaim before turning away from us.

"Awe, I think someone has a crush!" Stark says.

"Shut up!" Rephaim says. "She was just really pretty, plus, we may have to kill her eventually." He goes back to having a series and un-blushing face and turns back to the TV.

"What's his problem?" Stark whispers in my ear.

"No idea, but don't torture him about having a crush, because he is right," I say.

"Like Aido having a crush on you?" Stark asks, "Are you going to have to kill him, too?"

"I'm hoping he dies before I have to kill him myself," I say.

"Okay, well, if it's me, you, him, and Rephaim left in the end, I'll do the honors of killing him for you and then you and Rephaim can take care of me," Stark says, "Sound good to you?"

"I love how we are planning you and Aido's deaths," I say, laughing.

"Well, I kind of hope you do win, considering if I kill you or Rephaim, I'm pretty sure your mom will kill me before I leave the arena."

I ignore him and try to pay attention to the TV, Aphrodite is talking to Castro.

"I'm not kidding, if you loose, your mom will probably kill the person who did it," he whispers in my ear.

"So your parents own a clothing shop?" I hear Castro ask Aphrodite.

"Yeah, we make our own clothing," she answers.

"I know she will, I don't want her to, but she will," I say, "I want this to be fair for everyone. Which is why I ain't telling anyone who I actually am."

"I got that much," Stark says.

"Well, is there a boy back home you like?" Castro asks.

"Hey, Tigris, he finally asked a girl," Rephaim says.

"Yeah, I heard," I say. Stark laughs.

"Maybe he isn't gay."

I giggle and continue to watch the TV.

"Well, I do have a couple guys that I've had crushes on, but that's about it."

"Awe, so do you like anyone right now?"

"Yes, his name is Toby. Since I may not make it back, I guess he can know, right?" Aphrodite says.

"You don't think you'll win?" Castro asks.

"I think I might have a shot, but I'm not sure," Aphrodite says.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Castro says.

"Thank you," Aphrodite says. She stands up, bows, and walks off the stage.

"Next up, also from District Eight, is Dutch Kikly!" Castro says, at the same time that Rephaim says, "Next is Dutch."

I laugh and I see Rephaim smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Hello Dutch," Castro says as Dutch sits on the chair.

"Hello," Dutch says back.

"Do you have any siblings?" Castro asks.

"No, it's just me and my parents," he answers.

"Awe yes, your mom is a designer for us, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she became my designer," Dutch says looking at his clothes.

"Well, she did an amazing job!" Castro says.

"She always does," Dutch says smiling.

"Yes, well, what's your dad do?"

"He just stays home and watch me, he was like a stay at home dad, I guess you can say," Dutch answers.

"Oh, okay. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, never did, and probably never will, you know, unless I win," Dutch says, smiling.

"Fastest way to a girl's heart, winning the Hunger Games!" Castro yells.

Dutch just laughs as Castro says, "Well, I wish you the best of luck and hope you win to impress some girls."

Dutch nods, and stands up and walks off stage.

"Well, that's true," Stark says.

"What is?" Rephaim asks.

"Winning the Hunger Games is the quickest way to a girl's heart," Stark says. "Think about it, if you win, everyone will want to be your friend to get food and drinks. Your treated like a Queen and King after you win."

I nod, he is right. If you win, everyone wants to suddenly become your friend. Though, my mom said with Haymitch, it was a totally different story.


End file.
